Potential of Chlorella vulgaris powder to enhance ethanol-cultured Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

Chlorella vulgaris is a highly nutritious single cell microalgae reported to alleviate oxidative-stress induced damage. Although Saccharomyces cerevisiae is highly renounced for its fermentation capacity is susceptible to ethanol toxicity. In this context, the potential of C. vulgaris powder to help improve the life span of S cerevisiae cultured in the presence of ethanol was studied. The growth characteristic including cell viability and vitality of S. cerevisiae cultured in a media supplemented with C. vulgaris powder (0.1 and 1% w/v) and induced with 5% ethanol was monitored over 5 days. Results showed that from days 1 to 5, the yeast media supplemented with 1% C. vulgaris powder showed enhanced growth compared to that with 0.1% chlorella, 5% ethanol alone, and control media. By day 5, ATP production enhanced significantly (p < 0.05) in the 1% chlorella-supplemented (180.45 nmol), compared to control (86.84 nmol) and 0.1% chlorella-supplemented sample (105.185 nmol).